About the White Stag Legend

In 1933, Béla Bánáthy attended the World Jamboree hosted by his homeland, Hungary. His troop spent many weeks carving a massive, intricate gateway to their sub-camp. He looked forward to meeting, he hoped upon hope, the Chief Scout, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, himself. Béla reports:

The highlight of the Jamboree for me was meeting Baden-Powell, the Chief Scout of the World. One day, he visited our camp with the Chief Scout of Hungary, Count Paul Teleki (who later became our Prime Minister), and the chief of the camp staff, `Vitez' Kisbarnaki Ferenc Farkas, a general staff officer of the Hungarian Royal Army. A few years later he became the commander of the Royal Ludovika Akademia (when I was a student there). In the 1940s, he became the Chief Scout of Hungary. (I was serving on his staff as head of national junior leadership training.)

The Jamboree badge: the "Miraculous Stag" of Hungary. Twenty-five years later, having survived occupied Hungary during World War II, and now in his new homeland, the United States of America, Béla pursues a dream. He begins a leadership development program for boys. He calls it "White Stag Leadership Development."

The White Stag Legend is adapted from the myth of the Hungarian people as retold in Kate Seredy's award-winning children's book. This story describes the leadership of Attila--known by history as Attila the Hun, the "Scourge of God"--in finding a new land for his people. In our politically correct society today, some may object to this story's sanitized rendition of his devastation of Europe. The story is perhaps best understood if read from the point of view of his descendents and by adding the veil of national pride, for these people would admire his legacy more than his victims. For a vision of Attila's real work, see the links at right.

Our version of the legend is given orally at a campfire deep in the woods, in story-teller fashion, to the candidate participants on the first night of summer camp each year. The storyteller is thoughtfully chosen, the site carefully selected, the candidate participants given no hint of what is to come. To tell more here would spoil the mystery of an exciting, moving ceremony, a "rite-of-passage" for all involved. Let the words which follow speak for themselves.

Just imagine you are deep in the forest and all is dark around you. You have been brought to this spot under The Order of The Still—told not to talk or use a flashlight. The campfire burns low before you, and all eyes are focused upon it as you wait, wondering why you have been brought to this mysterious spot in the deep of night. Suddenly, a voice booms out from somewhere beyond the campfire light and begins to speak...